Ultranova - Got one! Here are my thoughts..

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

The 'I feel love' patches on the video don't even come close...

Do you mean the Sweetwater vid? I think the ping pong delay on the bass could be easily fixed, and with some EQing it would be really close. The percussion was played with tempo set too fast but a reasonable attempt. Tempo setting might have been screwing up the bass delay as well. It's hard to judge them properly when they aren't mixed in together (it being a single-timbral synth).

I don't know if the patches were done by Moroder or Daniel Fisher, but I will say Daniel is a true wiz at sound design. Some of the ones in his Ultranova sound bank are instantly recognizable creations of some pretty difficult to program vintage sounds. They aren't very useful as patches or usable in any other song but they do showcase his design skill and the versatility of the Nova.

[Berni]

Originally Posted by MBTC

Do you mean the Sweetwater vid? I think the ping pong delay on the bass could be easily fixed, and with some EQing it would be really close. The percussion was played with tempo set too fast but a reasonable attempt. Tempo setting might have been screwing up the bass delay as well. It's hard to judge them properly when they aren't mixed in together (it being a single-timbral synth).

I don't know if the patches were done by Moroder or Daniel Fisher, but I will say Daniel is a true wiz at sound design. Some of the ones in his Ultranova sound bank are instantly recognizable creations of some pretty difficult to program vintage sounds. They aren't very useful as patches or usable in any other song but they do showcase his design skill and the versatility of the Nova.

Yeah...should have said that. I wasn't blown away by any of the patches on the vid tbh but I've heard 'I feel love' a thousand times & they didn't come close. Hey if you're charging an extra $50 on the strength of a few patches & a different paint job they should really cut it. They are apparently Moroder approved so not programmed by him.
Bit like the 'darkstar' just a gimmick to sell the same shit in a new wrapper

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

Yeah...should have said that. I wasn't blown away by any of the patches on the vid tbh but I've heard 'I feel love' a thousand times & they didn't come close. Hey if you're charging an extra $50 on the strength of a few patches & a different paint job they should really cut it. They are apparently Moroder approved so not programmed by him.
Bit like the 'darkstar' just a gimmick to sell the same shit in a new wrapper

Yes it is kind of like the darkstar gimmick, and I personally wouldn't pay an extra $50 for a limited edition of same, but in truth someone selling one used on eBay 15 years from now would probably more than recoup the premium simply by the fact it will be rarer than the regular Mininova.

I'm sort of glad they are doing this, if it brings attention to the synth then maybe we'll get more soundbanks for it. It also demonstrates a commitment to the product line. At least they aren't just abandoning existing Ultra and Mini and coming out with something completely new to boost sales.

However about the "I Feel Love" sounds, most synth sounds do not sound like they do on the official track unless they are mixed and mastered the exact same way. When you listen to them in isolation they never sound the same, true of any synth. Listen to the Depeche Mode virus patches which are supposedly the original patch. They won't sound the same outside the context of the other parts of the original song. A synth sound in a mix is as much a product of the sounds around it than as it is in isolation.

I felt there were too many other factors (i.e. the fact he wasn't playing them the same, the tempo was wrong, they are played in isolation) to really judge them properly anyway.

[Berni]

Originally Posted by MBTC

Yes it is kind of like the darkstar gimmick, and I personally wouldn't pay an extra $50 for a limited edition of same, but in truth someone selling one used on eBay 15 years from now would probably more than recoup the premium simply by the fact it will be rarer than the regular Mininova.

I'm sort of glad they are doing this, if it brings attention to the synth then maybe we'll get more soundbanks for it. It also demonstrates a commitment to the product line. At least they aren't just abandoning existing Ultra and Mini and coming out with something completely new to boost sales.

However about the "I Feel Love" sounds, most synth sounds do not sound like they do on the official track unless they are mixed and mastered the exact same way. When you listen to them in isolation they never sound the same, true of any synth. Listen to the Depeche Mode virus patches which are supposedly the original patch. They won't sound the same outside the context of the other parts of the original song. A synth sound in a mix is as much a product of the sounds around it than as it is in isolation.

I felt there were too many other factors (i.e. the fact he wasn't playing them the same, the tempo was wrong, they are played in isolation) to really judge them properly anyway.

The thing won't be worth crap in 5 years. It's only usually high end limited's that hold value but who know's. Old synths are losing value & will probably go the way of old samplers.

They are showing the same commitment access have right now.

'I feel love no love for you'

Please, I know this track & it's many remixes & have pulled it apart & dissected it. The main essence being the arp'ed bass line & searing lead. Non of that here but would have helped if the demo guy could actually play the tune's Lol

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

The thing won't be worth crap in 5 years. It's only usually high end limited's that hold value but who know's. Old synths are losing value & will probably go the way of old samplers.

Mininovas have been out for many years now and used ones are going for only a little less than new.

The Casio CZ-101, which was considered a toy by some in the 1980's, sold for a few hundred dollars back then and still commands roughly 65%-70% of its original price tag all these years later if in good condition, and that wasn't even a limited production run. I see the Mininova potentially doing the same thing -- it's small and makes some quality tradeoffs, but its kind of like a modern version of the CZ line. And, who knows what someone will pay for rare gear -- as I said I wouldn't pay a premium for it but some folks do go after collector's items. If that's anyone's reason for buying one I'd say bad idea but I can still see the Morodors going for more than the mini on ebay one day.

[Berni]

Originally Posted by MBTC

Mininovas have been out for many years now and used ones are going for only a little less than new.

The Casio CZ-101, which was considered a toy by some in the 1980's, sold for a few hundred dollars back then and still commands roughly 65%-70% of its original price tag all these years later if in good condition, and that wasn't even a limited production run. I see the Mininova potentially doing the same thing -- it's small and makes some quality tradeoffs, but its kind of like a modern version of the CZ line. And, who knows what someone will pay for rare gear -- as I said I wouldn't pay a premium for it but some folks do go after collector's items. If that's anyone's reason for buying one I'd say bad idea but I can still see the Morodors going for more than the mini on ebay one day.

Yeah you have a point...wish I'd bought a bunch of 303's back in the day

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

Yeah you have a point...wish I'd bought a bunch of 303's back in the day

Yeah I think old samplers are harder to justify for vintage collector geeks. I can remember when 12-bit samplers first came out and were all the rage. But, the modern computer or any other modest hardware / software combination can just do sampling better these days. That's different than something like a synth, which even if not the most spectacular does have certain characteristics that some could say may not be easily obtained any other way (I never thought PD synthesis of the Casio line was that great, but yeah they had their strong points). Or people just draw inspiration from working with vintage gear. I understand that as I enjoy just looking through the pdf versions of the manuals of some of the old synths I used to own -- nostalgic value. The implementation of an old hardware synth is so specific and costly to properly duplicate, that even its flaws have some value to someone. People go out of their way to emulate some of the bugs and problems of old synths.

But unlike synths I can't really think of a reason to own an old sampler unless it has a lot of useful onboard sounds (and memory was expensive back in the days, so their libraries would be scant by todays standards, with the likes of Komplete and such). I have seen people who specifically look for the characteristics of old 12-bit sound, but it's easy enough to emulate a lower bit rate on modern gear.

[evilgus]

Just bought a Mininova, time to reorganise my studio! (And do some tests against the Virus...)

EG

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by evilgus

Just bought a Mininova, time to reorganise my studio! (And do some tests against the Virus...)

Congrats, these are great synths.

[evilgus]

Maybe not the best start with Novation - the first Mininova had a dud screen backlight, so I had to return it for a replacement. Just unpacked the new one and it seems ok, except that it seems to forget the "Sort By Numbers" toggle-switch setting, if you switch between Genres or Patch Types. I don't think the previous one did that.

But yeh, I love the vocoder and vocal-tune will be fun. Been listening to a lot of Devo, this week, might even do a few covers for fun! I had forgotten how much vocoder and vocal effects they sneak into songs, just as a subtle extra.

EG